The cardboard boat race has made its place in homecoming tradition for the past 28 years. Before the homecoming game, Central Michigan University students, parents and alumni gather to watch students brave the waters of Rose Pond.

Every year, students craft cardboard boats with only duct tape, liquid nails and (of course) cardboard to sail across the pond. There are several rounds to the race as a limited number of groups go each time until there is a winner.

The tradition started in 1998 when the College of Science and Engineering gave its students the opportunity to showcase the skills they’ve learned so-far in the semester, CMU Professor of Mechanical Engineering Brian DeJong said.

As previously reported by Central Michigan Life in 1999, former chairperson and professor at the School of Engineering and Technology (SET), Lawrence Fryda, said “he looked forward to this race and expected this program to continue and become a tradition of IET department.”

Since then, the tradition still stands.

The majority of participants come from a class all freshmen engineers have to take: Introduction to Engineering (EGR 120) taught by DeJong. Students spend two weeks of the semester prepping for the race. The first week involves theory and group planning, while the second week is actually building the boats.

Anyone can participate, such as groups of students or Registered Student Organizations, SET technician Aaron Wenzlick said. The event is a collaborative space between engineers taking EGR 120 and students participating in homecoming events to show CMU spirit.

This year’s race will feature 25 boats, with 20 of them created by freshmen, and the other five made by student groups. DeJong said students who have the opportunity to participate in the boat races are typically excited to be involved with something that is incredibly special to the university.

DeJong said that 60% of the boats historically make it through the course, which is three to four football fields in length.

“It’s (the event) one of, those defining moments of what college was,” DeJong said.

Collin Basinski, CMU junior engineering student, said that he won the first round his freshman year. He said it’s an exhilarating thing to be part of the first year of college. He did it last year and plans to do it again until he graduates.

“It’s an energetic event,” Basinski said. “If you’re there, you feel the energy of everybody on the banks, off the ponds, and in the water.”

He said one of his favorite moments is when everyone starts screaming as the first boats are pushed into the water to start the race.

The students don’t get to test how well their boat will float, or sometimes sink, before the day of the race, Wenzlick said.

“When you go to watch a boat race, you don’t watch people succeed,” Wenzlick said. “You are there to watch people sink.”

The Rules of the Race:

The boat race isn’t just a free-for-all for participants. Teams must follow specific rules when assembling their boats. Those rules can include:

1. Teams build a boat and paddles with only the materials obtained by the School of Engineering and Technology, including:

Cardboard: 4x8 sheets, 4x4 sheets and 2x8 sheet (max of 5 4x8 sheets or equivalent)
Duct tape: Maximum of five rolls
Liquid nails: Maximum of five tubes

2. Teams will construct their boats throughout the week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 2

3. Each boat must carry three or four team members

4. Life jackets must be worn during the race

5. Participants must bring their boats to the race, break them down after and place their materials in the provided dumpster

6. The racecourse includes paddling along the north Rose Pond, portaging between the two ponds, and then paddling along the South Pond. Additionally, the race will be timed, and at the conclusion of the race, trophies will be provided to the winners.